Syntheses of chemical-modified cellulose obtained from waste pulp

Chemical-modified pulps were synthesized from four types of waste pulps (Pulp1-4) and succinic anhydride (SAn) or maleic anhydride (MAn). The solubility of the modified pulps was evaluated in common organic solvents, and their thermal properties were investigated by DSC measurement. The solubility of the modified pulps increased with an increasing degree of substitution (DS). However, no T-g or T-m of these modified pulps was confirmed. Pulps and modified pulps were graft-polymerized with e-caprolactone (CL) in bulk and in DMAc/LiCl. Although the solubility of the graft copolymers was similar to modified pulps, some graft copolymers showed a T-g by the introduction of CL units. In the bulk, graft copolymers obtained from modified pulps and nonmodified pulps showed a T-g of about 75degreesC and no T-g, respectively. In DMAc/LiCl, the obtained graft copolymers from both modified and nonmodified pulps exhibited a T-g of 95-110degreesC. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.